Thursday, April 26, 2012

I am so excited to have Stevie from Garden Therapy here to talk about starting veggies from seed!

She has an amazing blog with so many inspiring and creative ideas for gardening.

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One of the most rewarding ways to grow your
own vegetables is to start them from seed plus it’s a great educational
experience for kids big and small. Root
veggies like carrots, beets and radishes do the best when planted directly in
the soil where they will grow as they have a delicate taproot that doesn’t like
to be moved. Other garden edibles
appreciate the helping hand of growing up a bit indoors before braving the
elements. Tomatoes, peppers, and
eggplants are good examples of great seeds to start indoors.

Planting
Root Vegetables: Carrots, Beets, and Radishes

Plant root vegetables in fertile,
well-drained soil that has been sifted to remove any stones or hard debris that
will obstruct the root growth (and make funny shaped veggies). Sow seeds according to the plant depth and
spacing as recommended on the seed packet for each variety. Carrot and radish seeds are quite small and
beet seeds come in clusters, so it will be necessary to thin out your plants
when they grow. You can do this by
cutting (not pulling) out the seedlings that are the weakest, leaving the
strongest lots of room to grow a yummy root.
Keep seeds moist while they germinate. Once sprouted make sure they get
lots of sun (8 hours/day) and water (don’t let them dry out on hot days). As they grow they will push up their
shoulders from the ground so mound soil around them periodically. Plant root veggies in spring and summer for a
fall harvest or plant over-wintering varieties in late summer for a winter
harvest.

Planting
Heat-Lovers: Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants

Heat lovers like tomatoes, peppers, and
eggplants like to be started indoors between 4-6 weeks before the last date of
frost. Starting seeds indoors gives them
a jump-start on the growing season, and ensures that your plants will have lots
of time to produce fruit before it gets chilly outside again.

Start seeds in homemade newspaper pots set
in a plastic nursery tray or even a plastic salad box. Newspaper pots can be made by wrapping 5”
strips of newspaper around a wooden pot maker or a household item like a glass
or a can. Wrap the paper strip around the form leaving 1” of paper overhanging
the bottom. Crimp and fold the
overhanging paper so that it tucks into itself and makes a pot that holds its
shape when you remove the form. Use a
bit of tape to hold it if necessary.

Fill each of the paper pots with seed
starting mix, a light, disease-free soil mix made specifically for seed
starting. Don’t use garden soil that can
have many fungi, bacteria and critters that can attack little seedlings. Plant
each pot with 3 seeds, cover with soil, and water well. Keep pots moist until seeds germinate and the
little green sprouts come up. Sadly you
will have to choose only one strong seedling per pot to keep by cutting (not
pulling) the others with clean scissors.
Keep your seedling in bright sunlight until it gets 2-3 true leaves (the
plant will initially have 2 “seed” leaves which are rounded then grow the “true”
leaves which look quite different), then transplant the whole pot, newspaper
and all, into a larger plastic nursery pot filled with a container mix
soil. Grow your plant into a teenager in
this pot and when kit’s warm enough (as determined on your seed packet) you can
move it outside.

These tips will hopefully have enough
information to get you started keeping in mind that there are variances to
different vegetables and climates that you can determine by visiting your local
nursery. Read seed packets for the most
specific information on planting seeds and transplanting seedlings.

2 comments:

It should not come as a great surprise that the health benefits of seeds are very significant because seeds are the part of a plant that contain all the ingredients needed to bring forth new life. But besides having general nutritional benefits seeds have been used over centuries to treat specific ailments.